Continuing Professional
Development (CPD)
All AMTRA SQPs are required to
undertake Continuing Professional Development. The amount of CPD required
depends on the type of SQP and on when the SQP qualified. With the exception of
small amounts of personal study, all CPD must be accredited by AMTRA in advance.
AMTRA will keep a record of CPD points accumulated by SQPs, and those not
achieving the required minimum will not be able to renew their SQP registration
unless they pass a fresh exam.
Information for CPD
Organisers
AMTRA encourages third parties to provide CPD
seminars - but these must be accredited by AMTRA in order for them to be counted
against the CPD requirements for individual SQPs.
How do the changes between NOAH and AMTRA affect
CPD?
From January 2011 maintenance
of the register of animal health representatives currently registered with AMTRA
under the MAH scheme only will switch to NOAH. From next year, NOAH will
co-ordinate the register and arrangements for training courses and examinations,
and the current AMTRA MAH qualification will be known
as the NOAH Certificate in Animal Health (NCAH) from 2011.
This change will enable AMTRA to focus on what
has become the dominant part of its activities in recent years, namely acting as
the registration body appointed by the Secretary of State to deal with Suitably
Qualified Persons.
This change will have no impact on AMTRA's
activities in relation to SQPs, including accreditation of CPD for SQPs which
will continue to be done by AMTRA.
How do SQPs get points from my seminar?
You need to seek AMTRA accreditation for the
seminar at least 28 days prior to it being held. It is not AMTRA’s intention to
try to evaluate the detail of what you intend to present, merely the completed
form telling AMTRA what is intended in terms of coverage and time. If AMTRA
accredits the seminar, it will also tell you the number of CPD points attendees
can receive.
This form can be found at
http://www.amtra.org.uk/cpd/CPD_Accreditation_Application.pdf
The guidance notes on it are at
http://www.amtra.org.uk/cpd/CPD_Accreditation_Guidance.pdf
How does AMTRA check that what is promised is
actually provided?
All CPD seminars must be open to random visits
from an AMTRA Assessor. AMTRA must therefore be advised at least 14 days in
advance of any accredited event taking place.
How do the points from attending get onto the
SQP’s record?
Seminar providers must submit information on
those attending, including their name and SQP number, to AMTRA in the standard
AMTRA format. This can also be found on the AMTRA website.
How does AMTRA decide how many points SQPs will
get from attending my seminar? This is primarily decided on the basis of the
time spent which should cover the key accreditation criteria:
- Legislation, regulations, references and further reading
- Life cycles, prevalence and effects of parasites and pathogens
- Control of disease by management, treatment, advice & farm health planning
- Active ingredients and dosages of medication
- Resistance, warnings, withdrawal periods, pharmacovigilance and environment
The allocation of CPD points to
approved seminars will be as follows:
| Primary |
6 points for each hour of
accredited learning during a seminar (i.e. excluding coffee, lunch
and tea, etc).
|
| Secondary |
1 additional bonus point for
each of the criteria listed below that are fully covered in the content of
the Seminar, for each 2.5 hour period of any Seminar – therefore this only
applies to Seminars that have a learning period of 2.5 hours or more. |
Thus, a seminar of 2½ hours accredited content would be allocated a
minimum of 15 points, plus up to 5 additional points depending upon the number
of criteria fully covered in the Seminar.
In all cases, the seminars will be assessed for
coverage of each of the key accreditation criteria listed above, and unless at least
two are
satisfactorily covered then the proposed seminar will not be accredited at all.
Applications for accreditation will only be
approved if the majority of the seminar is devoted to at least two of the above
criteria. A minority of the learning period may be allocated to other subjects,
including product information and training.
Those presenting and providing training at
accredited seminars must have appropriate qualification/experience, details of
which should be submitted for assessment together with the application for
accreditation.
Can CPD points be awarded to SQPs who answer a
quiz or questionnaire on-line or in written format?
Yes – guidance on what AMTRA has termed
"quiztionnaires" can also be found in the guidance notes referred to above.
Essentially, the questions must be accredited by AMTRA 28 days prior to use or
publication, and 1 CPD point can be awarded for each group of 10 questions.
Remember an SQP can count up to 25 CPD points from "quiztionnaires" in each CPD
period.
Will AMTRA promote my seminar or quiz?
CPD organisers may ask AMTRA to include their
seminar(s) or provide information about their quizzes on the AMTRA website once accredited. In such cases, AMTRA may also
choose to make that information available to SQPs when writing to them on other
matters.
AMTRA may also, at the request of the CPD
provider, provide information about seminars or quizzes to SQPs via email (which
can include subsets such as geographically or type of SQP qualification). AMTRA
will also consider requests to circulate printed material (at cost) on behalf of
CPD providers.
Can AMTRA help in any other way?
AMTRA will provide on request information to help
CPD providers target their activities, such as information on numbers of SQPs in
particular areas, and numbers of SQPs of the various types who have not yet met
their CPD minimum targets or who have yet to attend a seminar.
AMTRA will not provide names and addresses of
SQPs to CPD providers.
This page last
updated 28/06/2010 |
